Thread: weird language
View Single Post
(#14 (permalink))
Old
Decimus (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 119
Join Date: Oct 2010
11-15-2010, 09:30 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by TalnSG View Post
No, it is just ordinary slang, or lazy speech, for "It's been a long time since I(we) have seen you(each other)." It defies the grammatical rules because it is not technically a sentence, nor proper English. But it is very commonly used. So when written it is usually separated by a semicolon, or completely separated into the approximation of two independent sentences.
Your theory holds less water.

More resources here:
long time no see - WordReference Forums
LISTSERV 14.5
How informal is 'Long time no see'?

The general consensus is that it's derived from Pidgin English. The only thing that most people can't seem to agree from is whether it's Native American Pidgin English, or Chinese Pidgin English.

Writing "Long time no see" as "Long time; no see" is also decidedly uncommon.

Furthermore, "No see" is grammatically incorrect anyway (the correct form should be "Do not see" or "Doesn't see". Or "Haven't seen" in order to approximate the meaning closer.), unless you are referring to the Holy See. (which is a noun.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Suki View Post
Errr no. I mean, yes okay, it has to do with the translation, but it is true that some languages have ways to say something with very few words (English is one of those), while in others you'd use a much longer sentence to express the same thing. There's a pretty funny scene in Lost In Translation that pretty much illustrates what I'm saying. Bill Murray goes to Japan to do a commercial. On set, during the filming, there's a Japanese translator there that translates to English everything the director says. And here's what proves my point: the director just chatters away in Japanese for the longest time, and Bill Murray is like "wow I must be doing very awfully cause he won't shut up..." and when he asks the translator what all he said, the translator just says "Do it again but more slowly" and Bill Murray's like "WTF?! Seriosuly, is that ALL he said? He talked much more than that! He must have said something else!"... see what I mean? Ummm it makes a lot more sense when you watch the scene, I tried but couldn't find it on youtube.
You might find the following links to be interesting:
(Warning, links lead to TVTropes. I disavow all responsibility over any potential loss of time that you may incur should you start reading the other articles. You have been warned.)

Translation: Yes - Television Tropes & Idioms
Tactful Translation - Television Tropes & Idioms
Fun With Subtitles - Television Tropes & Idioms

Especially the last one as you seem familiar with the Pythons.

Last edited by Decimus : 11-15-2010 at 09:46 PM.
Reply With Quote